Signature - Q1, 2008 - (Page 13) In the Beginning By Jim Kardach The first couple of years I spent working on Bluetooth technology were a real kick. It was great to be involved in everything from naming the technology to developing early use cases. I was in the notebook group in early 1997, creating the first usage model and developing collateral to sell the program, then called Business-RF, within Intel. We were generating usage models that the industry believed in, and it was really exciting to help build the technology that would deliver those capabilities. It was a heady time, not only because of the technology but also because of market expectations. Bluetooth technology looked like the answer to a lot of connectivity issues, and people were predicting how quickly we would get to a billion units shipped a year. But just as products started to roll out, the industry got hit by a double whammy: first, the bursting of the Internet investing bubble in late 1999, and then the hit on the cell phone service providers by the FCC-driven spectrum auctions. As a result, the market wasn’t ready for our new technology. By 2002, however, the market began to turn around. As sales grew, the cost of manufacturing the radios dropped. When the cost fell through the magic $5 price point, all of a sudden Bluetooth technology was being integrated into more and more product lines. One of the most interesting things about Bluetooth technology, and one of the big reasons it’s continuing to grow, is the value it brings to existing products. You stick a $3 Bluetooth wireless radio into a car with a bit of software and suddenly that car is worth $1,000 more. The price/value delta will decline, of course, as the technology spreads, but it is still remarkable how Bluetooth technology enhances and retains value. I foresee a couple of significant trends. One is lower-powered, smaller personal devices that people can wear, such as jewelry or watches that can be used as sensors or status devices like heart monitors. Another is faster data transfer, which will make it much easier, for instance, to view movies on a notebook or even on a cell phone. Pairing will become increasingly important. The pairing of smaller and faster devices may work the way we now pair our cell phones and our notebooks, but I envision a more powerful model. Maybe you’ll transfer a video or some other large file on the spot, on the move, such as to a friend you meet on the street. Maybe you’ll peruse the latest multimedia menu sent to your phone while you’re on your way to a restaurant. Who knows? We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of Bluetooth technology – and whatever new technology it leads to next. Jim Kardach was instrumental in the development of Bluetooth technology and the formation of the Bluetooth SIG. He also came up with the name “Bluetooth.” A member of the Bluetooth SIG Hall of Fame, Kardach is senior principal engineer within the Intel Mobile Products Group. “Those of us disappointed by the slow early growth of Bluetooth wireless technology have been shocked, happily so, at how it has grown since.” — Jim Kardach, Intel Mobile Products Group Bluetooth Special Interest Group | 13
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